(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) May 7 (Reuters) - European stocks hit a record high on Friday as strong economic data from Germany and other major economies as well as upbeat earnings added to hopes of a swift economic recovery from the pandemic shock. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% to 442.24 points by 0723 GMT. The benchmark briefly surpassed its April record high of 443.61 in early trading. The German DAX rose 0.8%, inching closer to its life high, while France’s CAC 40 hit its highest since November 2000 and UK’s FTSE 100 breached the 7,100 mark. Data showed German companies increased their exports for the eleventh month in a row in March, with growth coming in at 1.2%, twice the rate economists had forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high on Thursday after a strong U.S. weekly jobless claims data, while Asian stocks rose on upbeat trade report from China. German sportswear company Adidas surged 7.1% after it raised its 2021 sales outlook. UK’s Meggitt jumped 13.0% to the top of STOXX 600 after a media report of takeover, while French mall owner Klepierre slipped 3.1% on trimming its 2021 cashflow forecast. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.